Tobacco pouch



Patented July 17, 1951 N-lT ED Oi'FF ICE 2,560,535;

TOBACCO POUCH .Howard' G; Allen, Niagara Eallsp'l ti 3h, 'assi'gnomtoAmerican Machineyiia.Foundryscompanma cor:-

pora-tioniof New Jersey Application March. 5, 1946;SerialNb. 652,070

'2 Glaims.

This invention relatesto improvementsin flexible pouches, bags andsimilar containers, and particularly to pouches of the 'kind inwhichsmoking tobacco may be packaged for sale, and

after opening, used as a convenient'pocket pouch .for the tobacco.

Among the more commonly known sheet materials or films used for makingthe kind of pouches or containers named maybe mentioned cellophane,rubber hydrochloride, and coated or uncoated paper 'as well aslaminations of the foregoing materials. some of such materials areinhererentl'y capable of being sealed by the application ofheatorheatand pressure, while others have applied thereto a surfac'e'layer ofa suitable thermoplastic to meet the heat sealing requirements.

After the tobacco or other contents have'been introduced into the pouchit has been found desirable'to themadhesively secure-or heat-sealthemarginal portions of the. mouth of the pouch sc -that the contents canbe confined and kept in good condition and the desired moisture contentand aroma of the tobacco retained while the package is in storage, priorto sale and use. "This sealed" mouth must be opened in some manner foraccess to the contents.

It has heretofore'beenproposed to 'seal pouch mouths in different waysso that the sealed pouches may be opened by pulling on the mouth edgesto cause the-partsto separate by forcing open or causing the sealedsurfaces to part. 'Evenwhen the-pouch material is strong and tough, suchprocedure i's' lia ble -to cause tea-ring of the pouch adjacent themouth due, it is believed, to the seat often being as strong; or nearlyas strong as the material.

An object or the present invention is i to provide a sealed or closedmouth-pouchor-container of the type referred to which may be easily andneatly opened without tea-ring ormutilatin-g the pouch walls, evenby themore careless and 'hasty user.

Another object contemplates aseal'ed'orclosed mouth pouch or containerof novel construction enabling the pouch to be initiallyopened- "in amanner to leave at the-edgesor portion-s adjacent the pouch mouth areinforcement to strengthen those portions against mutilation or unduewear during use of the-pouch.

A furtherobject is toconstruct' a "pouch or container, the walls of"which are of "relatively strong and tough sheetorfilm-mateefial andbetween which, at the mouth portion thereof,-

there is securedmaterial of lesser-tensile strength .2; and toughnesswhich may be sealed to and between' sa-id.- walls, so that, when thepouch is initially opened, the interposed material, rather thanthepouchwalls, will yield-or tear open in a manner resulting in a neatand clean mouth-portion.

' Otherobjects-of this inventionare toprovide anovel sealed mouth,flexible pouch or container which is of relatively simpleconstruction;which can be easily and inexpensively manufactured; which will beofrugged anddurable form, so thata-fter being initiallyopened; the pouchcan be opened: and closed :repea-tedly until the-contents are used up,without undesirable-wear; and which will be effectivepreservationof'des'ired condition of the tobacco or other-contentsduringstorage prior to sale in 'airording and opening of the pouch and alsowhile the contents are in use.

With these andother objects not specifically mentioned in view,thein-ventionconsists in certain combinations and constructions whichwill be hereinafter-fully described, and then set forth in. the claimshereunto appended.

Inthe accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification:

' Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a sealed mouth tobaccopouch or the like flexible container constructed in accordance with anembodiment of this invention, showing the flap thereof in open position.

Fig. '2 is a transverse section of the pouch illustrated in Fig. 1- 'onan enlarged scale, takenon line22 of that figure, but showing aportionof the pouch flap in pouch closing 'position.

Fig..3 is a fragmentary perspective view there of showing the pouchmouth partly opened.

' Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one form of insert used at the mouthportion of the pouches of this invention.

, be formed-of one or moresheets or layersof a selected kindor type,ormore than one type, of

'terial.

provide the closed bottom, and the side marginali or edge portions aresecured together to form the opposite side scams or portions I6. Theprecise manner of accomplishing the foregoing may follow any well knownprocedure, as by engaging the adjacent marginal or side portions face toface and then causing these portions to ad- I here by application ofheat and pressure in those cases where the adjacent faces of the sheetsare provided with, or formed of a suitable plastic or heat-scalablecoating. Alternatively the marginal parts forming the seams l6 may besecured by adhesive applied at the time of making the pouch, theadhesive being allowed to set under pressure.

If desired, the front and back walls l0 and I2 may be formed of separatefilms or sheets, of like or different materials, and the bottoms of thepouch closed by a seam similar to the side scams or folds l0 and I2.

In the pouch illustrated, the back sheet or wall l2 is extended upwardlybeyond the top edge of .the front wall to thereby provide a flap orwrapper element 20. This flap, as usually made, is ;of a length to bewrapped completely about the pouch or pocket portion P of the container,so that after seal at the mouth has been opened its margins can be heldin contact to confine the contents. Such an arrangement also aids in theretension of moisture and aroma in the tobacco .durin use of the pouch.

The novel, easy-opening sealing means of this invention is not, however,limited in its application to pouches having such enfolding flaps,,since it can as well be employed to seal pouches or containers in whichno flap is provided and ,in which the pouch mouth is formedwith-similar, alined or flush opposite margins.

In the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1-5, the novel, easilyopenable pouch mouth sealing means there provided is in the form of .arelatively narrow strip 22 of selected sheet material folded intovsection. This strip is of a length enabling it to be positioned as aninsert between the front marginal mouth portions of .the front wall IE!and the opposed face of the rear wall 52 so as to extend from one sidemargin it to the other. The lower or folded edge 24 of the strip 22 isarranged to face inwardly parallel to the free upper edges 26. Theopposite ends of the strip may either abut the inner edge portions ofthe side folds or margins 18, or the strip may be long enough so thatthose ends may extend within these folds or margins and terminate at theextreme edges thereof, as

deemed most desirable.

As previously explained, the pouch walls are preferably made of aselected tough sheet ma- The strip 22 however is made of some kind ofsheet material which is of lesser tensile strength or toughness than theside walls, or is otherwise made more readily tearable, for the reasonsdescribed.

The strip 22 may be secured to the pouch'in .various ways. In thosecases where the inner tearing while the pouch is in use. .forcements,lying flat against the pouch walls 'to the introduction of strip 22.

faces of walls I 0 and [2 having a coating or layer of heat sealingplastic or other substance thereon, or in which such walls have suchcharacteristic inherently, the strip or insert 22 can be secured byapplication of heat and pressure, causing its outer faces to becompletely sealed to the sheets l9 and I2, over the entir area of thestrip faces.

As an alternate arrangement the outer faces of the folded strip 22 mayhave a heat scalable coating by which it can be sealed to the pouch.That form of a strip would be desirable where the pouch walls have noheat scalable surface.

Other specific ways of securing the strip in the'desired manner, shouldbe apparent.

In practice it may be desirable that the upper edges 2% of the strip 22should be disposed a short distance below the plane of the top edge ofthe wall Ill so that a free edge or grip 30 may be provided at themouth, which, together with the free flap 2U, willafford grippingportions to be grasped in starting the opening of the pouch mouth. Wherethe flap 20 is omitted, the back wall 12 will also have a free edge orgrip similar to the edge 36 (see Fig. 6).

It will be apparent from the foregoing that,

.while the outer faces of the strip 22 are securely fastened to theinner faces of the pouch mouth, the opposed inner faces 32 of the stripare entirely separated, except for the connection. formed by the fold 24at the bottom of the strip.

It will be seen that the sealing strip 22 described is confined entirelywithin the pouch mouth and desirably below the extremity there? of. Bythis arrangement the sealing strip has no parts projecting out of orbeyond the mouth where it would be liable to bending and damage,espeicially where a fold-over flap, such as 20, is use When it isdesired to initially open the pouch mouth the marginal portions, i. e.,the edge 30 and flap 20, or the two edges 30, as the case may be, aregrasped and pulled outwardly in opposite directions. This operation willcause the strip 22 to easily and quickly be separated along the fold 24,see Figs. 3 and 5, since the strip is made of less strong and toughmaterial compared with the material of the pouch body.

After the pouch mouth has been opened the separated leg portions of theV-shaped strip 22 remain attached throughout their area to the walls I0and [2. They thus provide desirable reinforcements which reduce thepossibility of These rein- .sealing element, embodying the invention, is

shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Here, instead of using the double or foldedstrip 22 of Figs. 1-5, I employ a single, fiat strip 34 of materialwhich is inserted within the opposed marginal wall portions 36 of thepouch mouth in a manner similar This strip 34 has its opposite fiatfaces sealed or adhesively secured to the walls of the pouch preferablywith reduced tensile strength'and toughness as compared with thematerial of the walls 36 of the pouch.

Upon grasping and pulling the edges 40 of the pouch outwardly, theaction will be such that the strip will divide or split downwardlybetween its attached outer faces, more or less uniformly as suggested bythe dot and dash line 42, Fig. 6, depending upon the texture and mannerin which the material has been made. Thus, as in the first constructiondescribed, a portion of the strip 34 remains on each inner face of themouth to act as a reinforcement.

To assist in more positively providing reinforcements of uniformthickness when a single strip, as in Figs. 6 and 7 is employed, thestrip, if desired, can be made of suitable laminated sheet material, thelayers of which are secured together by a sealable or adhesive materialwhich would make a bond of somewhat less tenacity than the bonds betweenthe strip and the pouch walls. Thus the strip would divide or split in auniform plane.

Also, where such a strip is used in pouches having a flap 2!), thelaminations in the strip may be arranged to provide a thickerreinforcement at the margin of the wall Ill than that on the Wall [2,since with the provision of the flap, the wall I2 might not require areinforcement of the strength or thickness of that needed at theopposite mouth margin.

Such a strip 3401. having laminations 35 and 31, is indicated in Fig. 9.

In cases where the raw inner edge 44 of the strip 34 may be subjected toaction of moisture in the contents of the pouch resulting possibly in aweakening and premature separation of the strip, the lower marginalportionof the strip may be treated with a suitable waterproof andsubstantially air tight substance, as indicated at 46 in Fig. 7. In thisway protection against such deleterious action may be provided.

As an alternative way of affording protection against the undesirablecondition just described, I may provide a strip 48, see Fig. 8, in whichone or both faces of the sheet material from which strip 48 is made maybe coated or formed so as to be substantially moisture proof and airtight. Thus by forming a fold 50 at the lower edge of the strip, suchfold, when the strip is sealed in the pouch mouth, will aflordprotection against undesirable action of moisture of the contents on thestrip and provide an air tight closure.

When a pouch having the strip 48 embodied therein is to be unsealed, thestrip will split apart, much as in the case of the strip 34, previouslydescribed.

While I have described and shown the grip portions 30 in connection withthe form of the invention shown in Figs. 1-5, the pouch thereillustrated could, if desired, be made and found practical without thegrips 30. Since the insert 22 is of V-shape, the pouch could be openedby grasping the pouch mouth walls and the readily flexed legs of theinsert.

It is thought to be essential however to provide grip portions, such asthe parts 40, Fig. 6, in those forms of the invention embracing a singleflat strip, as in Figs. 6-9, since, if such single strips were sealedflash with the top edges of the pouch mouth it would be diflicult tostart the opening of the pouch.

While I have described in detail certain emthe terms and expressionswhich I have employed are used as terms of description and illustration,and are not intended to exclude any equivalents of the features shownand described, but recognize that various modifications are possibleWithin the scope of the invention claimed.

I claim as my invention:

1. A pouch or container made of flexible sheet material having opposedmarginally secured side walls, said pouch being open at one end toprovide a mouth for said pouch, one of said walls projecting materiallybeyond the other wall at said mouth to form a flap foldable over saidmouth, an insert of flexible sheet material of V-shape having opposedlegs connected by a crease, said insert having the outer faces of thelegs thereof secured throughout to the opposed inner faces of said pouchwith their marginal edges within and adjacent the extremities of saidpouch mouth and the crease between said legs positioned in and remotefrom said mouth to close the same, said pouch being opened by disruptingsaid crease with said insert legs remaining attached to and within saidpouch, whereby said pouch has a smooth margined mouth over which saidflap may be folded both before and after said pouch has been opened.

2. A pouch or container made of relatively strong flexible sheetmaterial having opposed marginally secured side walls, said pouch beingopen at one end to provide a mouth for said pouch, one of said wallsprojecting materially beyond the other wall at said mouth to form a flapfoldable over said mouth, an insert of relatively weaker flexible sheetmaterial of V-shape having opposed legs connected by a crease, saidinsert having the outer faces of the legs thereof secured throughout tothe opposed inner faces of said pouch with their marginal edges withinand adjacent the extremities of said pouch mouth and the crease betweensaid legs positioned in and remote from said mouth to close the same,said pouch being readily opened by disrupting said crease of saidrelatively weaker insert, leaving said legs thereof attached to therelatively stronger mouth portions of said pouch mouth,

whereby said pouch has a smooth margined, re-

inforced mouth over which said flap may be folded both before and aftersaid pouch has been opened.

HOWARD G. ALLEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

